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Jeremiah Ndjoze
In the wake of back to back accidents and the resultant ever-increasing death toll on Namibian roads, celebrated local radio jock Cheeze, real name Azeal Matsoarelle is reeling with shock at the apparent ignorance – particularly among young drivers. Cheeze is a survivor of a near fatal road accidents that took place along the Independence Avenue in 2014 – an incident which he admittedly attributes to bullish driving and negligence.
“If you ask me how it happened I will give you an honest answer my brother, I don’t know. What I do know is that I was a bully on the road and speed was involved,” the much loved radio host told Entertainment Now this week.
He maintained that it took him an open skull and a string of operations to get him to change his behaviour, but was quick to point out that the same should not be the case with everyone.
“I nearly lost out on the opportunity of seeing my son being born and growing up,” he says adding that despite the incident having taken place about four years ago, the thought of it still scares him utterly.
Cheeze, who is the host of the C-Drive, Fresh FM’s late afternoon drivetime show told this newspaper that today he does not see the need for speed when driving, something that he advocates heavily on his mid-tempo entertainment orientated programme.
The radio jock says that driving should be a relaxing experience rather than one in which the driver is frustrated and impatient. The latter and the former, he says has been fingered as the prime causes of either road rage incidents or worse accidents.
“Drive time is a crucial time as such I always strive to keep it a laid-back type of situation with the right selection of music and a bit humour to lighten up the experience,” Cheeze revealed.
On a serious note, the radio personality called on the powers that be tighten the grip around driver education citing that in some Scandinavian countries it takes up to two years for one to get a drivers license as such the license holders tend to cherish this achievement with the same zeal that they would any other qualification. According to Cheeze, when you are young and your blood is boiling you might want to drive fast to arrive at a certain destination within a certain time so that you can earn your bragging rights.
He however cautioned that drivers should be cognizant of the fact that they are mere mortals travelling in a metal box at cut throat speed.
This man’s changed man claim is seemingly no fluke. In a Facebook post back in 2017 he says, ‘…after my near fatal car crash on 20th April 2014. (The years) 2014, 2015 and 2016 are years I will never forget as they are the years that truly molded the man I am today. At times I would sit and stare at the walls and scream at God asking why me. In a way I look back now and see his answer and blessing. Back than would I woke up every morning with a message that I wrote down as a message to others or so I thought. But when I go back and read my Facebook journal I realise that I was actually telling myself to hang in there. The Almighty knows how and when to answer your prayers. All I had to do was look at the positive changes within…’
New Era Reporter 2018-06-15 10:28:44 5 months ago